Surviving a Dream
by justmakingmagic
Summary: Follow the Torchwood Team from a new member's perspective. Aria (A.K.A Nemo), a young girl under Jack's protection after being rescued two years ago. Starts from the beginning of Season 1 with my OC. Jack/Ianto. Jack/OC. Ianto/OC. Rated T for safety and possibly future chapters. Suck at summaries, sorry. x
1. Prologue

**New story guys :)) Made a new account because I am actually going to try and finish this one :P The story itself is going to follow the events of the tv series, just with my OC, Aria, added in. Hope you like :)) **

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Torchwood or any characters of ideas associated with it. I only own my OCs featured in this story. **

**...**

_When they found me I was lost and broken. I stood, shaking, in the corner of the room, my gaze trained to the organized chaos that worked around my parents' bodies that lay in the middle of their bedroom floor. It took a while for someone to notice me … I had always been good with blending into the shadows. First it was Suzie, her cold gaze meeting mine for a matter of seconds before turning away, pretending as though nothing happened. That was the start of a lovely relationship. Next it was Ianto, the grin that sat on his face after listening to Owen talk faltering as he saw me, the camera he held in his hand clattering to the floor. That drew the attention of the rest of the team towards me. I barely noticed them coming at me as my vision swum, my right hand holding the wall for support while my left hand clutched my side, desperately trying to stop the pain, warm blood covering my fingers._

_._

_"Everyone, move back!" Jack commanded, his American accent prominent and worried. "Owen, she's hurt." Owen moved to my side, gently placing an arm around my shoulder. I said nothing as I was moved out of the room, my eyes squeezed tightly shut so I wouldn't have to see my parent's corpses staring at me, accusing me. I was placed onto a chair in my living room and a bright light was shone in my eye, cold hands running along my injured side. I flinched as someone came up behind me, a hand wrapping around my waist._

_"Sorry," a voice whispered in my ear, their breath tickling my neck and sending shivers down my spine. Without thinking I leant into them, unspeaking, my eyes still shut in an attempt to become numb to the pain as Owen worked on my side. _

_"What's your name?" Jack asked, pushing my long brown hair away from my face, bending down so he was at my height. _

_"Aria," I whispered, still keeping my eyes tightly shut. I felt a hand cup the side of my face and I pulled away, shaking my head._

_._

_"Open your eyes, Aria," Jack spoke to me. Without a sound I slowly opened them, watching his reaction as he met the gaze of my deep, electric blue eyes, the eyes I hated and the eyes that watched my parents die. "Owen, we need to take her back to the hub." Jack said, his gaze never leaving mine. _

_"I don't think that's a good idea, she needs a hospital and medical treatment," Owen advised, midway through finishing the rushed stitches that were closing the gaping wound on my side. _

_"Not up for debate, Owen. She is coming with us. Look at her eyes," Jack murmured, and the rest of the team began to crowd around me._

_"Is she human?" Toshiko whispered. Jack nodded, as did Owen._

_"Vital signs and body are all consistent with that of a human. I'll check her over properly at the hub." Another pair of hands grabbed me this time and I yelped, pulling away and dropping to the floor, shaking and crying as the reality of what had happened hit me. Owen went to grab me again and I pulled away. _

_"No." I stated simply, meeting Jack's gaze again. He tenderly reached out an arm, wrapping it around my waist and hoisting me to my feet, letting my lean on him, supporting my weight as he led me to the black van waiting out the front of my house. I tripped as I went through the front door, my body having no energy, my vision swimming as I heard voices. The last thing I remember is my head hitting the ground hard, my body finally collapsing as I slipped out of consciousness. _


	2. Everything Changes Part 1

**Here's chapter 1 guys :)) Please review and follow :D x**

**...**

She woke up panting, her bed a twisted mess of limbs and sheets. Flinging her hand out she fumbled for the light switch, relief washing through her as she saw where she was, and, more importantly, that she was safe. Running a hand down her face she sighed, pushing herself to her feet and off the mattress that lay on the floor in her own special corner room under the offices in the hub. The other side of the bed was empty, so she figured Jack had already left on some sort of a case. Hoping that the Hub was empty she left her room, running a hand through her messed up hair as the soft sound of her feet on concrete echoed throughout the deserted cavern. Sneaking into Jack's office she moved to the bathroom, stripping off her crumpled clothes from the day before and standing under the water, gladly welcoming the coolness that washed over her, ridding her of the chill that had surrounded her from the nightmare. She heard the cogs of the door going and quickly turned off the water, pulling on her well-worn leggings and one of Owen's discarded tops. Leaving her hair wet and her feet bare, she snuck out of Jack's office the back way, tiptoeing past the stairs and depositing herself on Owen's chair, whistling softly. She was rewarded with the clicking of claws along the concrete as Winter, Aria's wolf, came around the corner. Out of everyone here, she would have to say Winter was her closest friend. The wolf fell through the rift last year and was found by Aria; both taking an immediate liking to the other. In a way, they had the same story to tell … Both without a family and alone in a new place. Aria was lucky when Jack took her in after her parents were killed, her mysterious looks and outlook on life intriguing him. For two years now, she has had a proper family and a place to call home, friends to love and people to keep her company. It was different, but she liked it. It was nice.

.

A loud squawk shocked her from her thoughts as the pterodactyl flew over her head, startling her and drawing her attention to Owen's voice which was coming from the metal door into the Hub.

"It was about time for someone to notice us," Tosh mused, dumping her bag beside her desk.

"Why must all the bloody officers be so nosy?" Owen ranted, giving Aria the death stare as he realized she was sitting in his chair. "Out."

"Because, Owen, that is what they are trained to do. Be inquisitive." Aria smiled innocently at him. "As for your chair, I'm staying. There's plenty of other places for you to place that annoying ass of yours down." Her grin faltered as she watched a devious look come over his face and she squealed as his hands snuck around her waist, lifting her into the air and dropping her on the floor where she stayed lying down, still and unmoving, a cheeky grin on her face that was unknown to the others.

"Shit. Aria?" Owen faltered, reaching an arm down to turn her over. As he did so she jumped up, watching as he leapt two feet into the air in shock. "Bitch!" He swore as he whacked his hand on the metal table in his state of shock.

"Sorry Owen," Aria murmured, the shadow of a grin still on her face. He gave her a quick hug to let her know there were no hard feelings before leaving the room and heading towards the autopsy room, leaving her alone with Suzie.

.

"He's lying you know." Suzie's voice was cold and hard as she spoke from her seat on the couch, eyeing her with dislike as she voiced her opinion.

"What do you mean?" Stupidly, Aria let herself be drawn into her well-planned trap.

"They were talking about you on the way back. You're a nuisance, Aria. No one really wants you here. Jack only puts up with you because he feels as though he owes you, and we only put up with you because he tells us to be nice." Aria shook my head.

"That's not true," she whispered, drawing Winter close to her body.

"Believe what you want, Aria. But deep down, you know its true. We all want you gone. Or better yet, dead." Suzie sent a smirk in her direction before flouncing off towards Jack's office, almost running into Ianto as he rounded the corner.

"Are you okay, Nemo?" Ianto asked, using his pet name for her as he noticed how upset she was. The nickname came from her unusual, vibrant electric blue coloured eyes and the skills she possessed in the water. Jack came up with it one summer's day when they were all at the beach, and it stuck. The others referred to her as Aria, her proper name, while Jack and Ianto both preferred to call her Nemo, claiming she reminded them too much of a beached fish for the opportunity to be missed. She wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Nodding at Ianto, trying not to worry him, she brushed past him, whistling for Winter to follow her back to the small room where she felt safest. Barely making a sound she slipped under the blankets, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to rid herself of what Suzie had said. Deep down she had always felt as though some of the team didn't want her, but she knew more than anything, the one thing she never wanted to be true was that Jack didn't want her. That would tear her apart.

.

TWTWTW

.

The next day began like any other day at the Hub, with Jack awoken by the sounds of Winter scratching at the door in an attempt to get out. Sighing, he slipped his arms out from around Aria's waist and rolled out of bed, opening the door and sticking his head out to look around. It was quiet, quieter than it had been for a good year and a bit. The last time he remembered waking up to this was when he was spending quality time in bed with Izaak, an Australian business man whom Jack had become attached to when he was bought in for questioning. Everyone had been in a good mood that day, leaving the two alone for a couple of hours before Izaak left to go home. Unfortunately for Jack, Retcon had to be used, so he was never able to recontact his brief lover. He smiled at the memories as he changed and made his way up to his office. Ianto arrived soon after, a coffee in hand which he placed on his bosses desk before silently making his way out of the office, silent as ever. Toshiko and Suzie arrived soon after, followed by Aria who had finally emerged from her room, looking run down and tired. Jack knew that this meant she had probably had another nightmare, despite his presence which usually calmed her down. Owen stumbled in mid morning, cussing at everyone until Aria silently handed him two panadol and a coffee, calming him down for the rest of the morning.

.

"Jack?" Tosh called out for the man about midday, a phone held to her ear. Sensing something exciting was about to happen, Aria pushed herself off the couch where she had been reading her book, silently moving over to Owen's desk to hear what was happening.

"What's up?" Jack asked as he raced down the stairs from his office.

"Sorry Jack, but there's been reports of a weevil running loose at the Hospital. It might be Janet. Thought you might want to check it out." Jack nodded thankfully and turned to Aria.

"You want to come Nemo?" She gaped at him in shock.

"Seriously?" He nodded and she squealed in excitement. It was extremely unusual for her to be allowed out on a job; him and Ianto always claimed it was safer for here. Maybe so, but it was definitely less exciting than actually being allowed to do something helpful.

.

On the way to the hospital Jack talked them through the plan, all of them leaping into action as they pulled into a parking spot. The weevil was on one of the top floors which was undergoing renovations. Tosh would stay in the SUV and monitor its movement, while Jack and Owen took the stairs up to catch it. Unfortunately for Aria, that meant she was stuck with Suzie. The outing no longer seemed as exciting, her mood become sour.

.

"Perk up. Don't have to be so upset that your precious Captain abandoned you. We all knew it was coming at some stage." Suzie taunted. Aria chose to ignore her, stepping into the lift silently and staying silent until they reached the top floor. As they went to walk out she was pushed into the wall by Suzie, the side of her head hitting the corner and pain spreading throughout her body. Suzie left her to struggle to stay conscious, carefully pulling herself back into the lift and letting it take her down to the ground floor where she stumbled out, depositing herself in the back seat of the SUV. Jack shot her a worried glance as he got in to the drivers seat but said nothing. Aria sat with her forehead on the cool window, taking slow breaths, trying not to vomit over Owen who sat in the seat in front of her.


	3. Everything Changes Part 2

**Thankyou very much to sd4ianto who was gave my my first review and story follow :D You're amazing :))  
This chapter turned out to be really long :O Hope it doesnt ramble too much! Enjoy :)) **

**...**

"I don't believe she followed us!" Suzie sighed, complaining as the team entered the hub. Aria trailed behind, a constant throbbing accompanying the pain in her head. Her vision swam again and she put a hand out, resting against the wall. Jack, noticing, came to her side, placing an arm around her shoulder and leading her onto the couch where he called Owen over.

"Owen, I need you to check Nemo out now." Aria shook her head and pulled away, knowing it was for the best if what had happened stayed unknown to the rest of the team.

"It's alright," Aria whispered, forcing out a weak smile. "I'm just tired … I'm going to sleep for a bit." She pushed herself off the couch and past Jack, ignoring his worried glance as she called for Winter, burying her face in his fur as she reached her room, letting a few silent tears fall, wanting more than anything to feel Jack's arms around her as she fell into a restless sleep.

.

TWTWTW

.

Aria woke up 8 hours later, well rested and without a headache, but haunted by Suzie's words which had followed her throughout her sleep. Groaning as she stretched her stiff muscles she pulled on her skinny jeans, boots and a singlet top, going for comfort rather than fashion.

"Jack?" She called out as she left her room.

"Nemo," he greeted her with a hug, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she smiled at him, lying unwantedly.

"In that case, do you want to be a part of a little joke? Any moment now the lovely PC Cooper will be walking through our door with pizza. We're going to put on a little show for her." Jack explained, pulling her behind him into the main area where the team where waiting, Owen and Tosh at the computers, Suzie at her desk.

.

Gwen Cooper was a little intimidated as she surveyed the area in front of her. She had felt hesitant after finding the man at the front desk a little off putting, and now that she was here, seemingly unnoticed, she wondered whether it was a better idea to leave before things got out of control. Deep down however, she knew she needed and wanted to get to the bottom of this. The Asian lady was sitting at the computers and her mind struggled to catch up as she stared in awe at the enormous pillar in the middle and the cavernous ceiling. There was a woman soldering in the corner and a man standing, fiddling with a computer. A young girl sat on the couch, her head buried in a thick book. As Jack came down the stairs she realized it was plainly obvious they were ignoring her, or had something seriously wrong so that they couldn't see she was there. The girl on the couch whistled and Gwen heard paws on the concrete, jumping in shock as a wolf bounded up the stairs, brushed past her legs, and sat in front of her, staring at her, a wide grin on its face. She swallowed and cast a nervous look at the people around her, unsure of what to do now.

.

Behind her she heard someone giggle and she spun around to see the white coated man standing, trying to suppress his laughter, finally giving up when he realized she had seen him.

"I can't do this! I'm sorry! I'm rubbish! I give up!" Owen snorted, slumping back in his chair. It started like dominos; one by one they all began laughing, leaving a confused Gwen standing in the middle of it all, bewildered.

"Winter!" Aria called for her companion and he obediently left Gwen's side, trotting over to her. "Good going Owen …. That lasted for all of about 5 seconds!" She stuck her tongue out at him, a cheeky grin on her face, the memories of earlier that day gone from her mind. The Captain ignored Aria, turning to Owen instead.

"Come on she was going to say, here's your pizza, and I was going to say how much? Then she says, oh whatever, twenty quid and I say oh I don't have any money… I was working on a punch line. I would've got there and it would have been good!" Jack grinned, a little defeated as his brilliant plan failed. Gwen still looked lost as Aria took the pizzas from her hands, dumping them on the table.

"Who the hell orders pizza under Torchwood?" Aria asked, looking accusingly at Owen who shrugged sheepishly.

"Oops." Silently Gwen took a look at the pizzas on the table and made to leave, only to be stopped by Jack who reminded her that it was a bit late to back out now. After a few minutes of questioning everyone and (conveniently) skipping Aria, Gwen turned to Jack.

"So what happens to me now?" Gwen's question caught her interest and she look up to see Jack's reaction. "I'm police, you can't do anything." She didn't sound overly convinced.

"We're Torchwood not the FBI. We only make people disappear every now and then … Trying not to make it a habit." Owen chuckled as Gwen looked between Owen and Jack as if she wasn't sure whether to believe them or not. "You've seen the murder, now why don't you come and see the murderer."

.

TWTWTW

.

Just over half an hour later Jack bought Gwen back to where they were all gathered. Aria couldn't help but smirk at how overwhelmed Gwen looked; it must have been similar to her reaction when she was first given the rushed tour. Introduction time.

"Gwen Cooper, this is Owen Harper."

"Doctor Owen Harper, thank you very much," Owen scoffed, the ghost of a grin on his face as he surveyed PC Cooper.

"This is Toshiko Sato, Suzie Costello and Aria Rose." Gwen surveyed me curiously, her gaze immediately drawn to my eyes. Thankfully for me she said nothing, turning to meet Ianto as he walked down the stairs, coffee tray in hand.

"And last, but certainly not least, this is Ianto Jones. Ianto cleans up after us and gets us everywhere on time."

"I try my best, sir," Ianto replies, looking modest as he sent Gwen a reassuring smile.

"And he looks good in a suit," Jack added, a grin on his face.

"Careful sir, that's harassment," Ianto replied, winking at Aria as he made his way over to her.

"He has a point. You do look good in a suit," she whispered to him, getting a blush and a kiss on her forehead in return.  
"Thank you, Nemo."

.

"What are you going to do to me?" Gwen asked again and Aria sighed, sinking back into the couch in despair. When was she going to stop asking that. "I have seen too much; I know your names, the fact you keep bloody aliens in your basement and that you enjoy disposing of bodies in the river." Jack sighed and grabbed his coat, placing an arm around Gwen's waist and leading her towards the door.

"Lets go get a drink and talk things over," he said, not giving her a chance to say goodbye as she was whisked out of the door. Aria couldn't help but feel sorry for her … Being retconned sucked. She knew from experience. When Jack first bought her back to the hub and Owen had checked her over, determining she was human, the reason behind her unusual eyes and talents still unknown, Jack had taken her out for a drink. She woke up the next morning with no memories of the last few days. Unfortunately for her, this meant she still thought her parents were alive, and finding out they weren't triggered memories of Torchwood. When she went back to the tower she ran into Jack, almost literally, who saved her from being hit by a car driven by a rogue alien of sorts. From then on, they clicked and she was allowed to stay. Technically she was more of a stay in the hub member of the team, but would sometimes be allowed to go out with them if she could convince Jack and Ianto that she wouldn't wander off and whatever it was they were doing wasn't too dangerous. Over the past year or so, both Owen and Ianto had become a lot more protective of her. While it got very annoying, she was grateful. It was the first time she could remember anyone truly looking out for her.

.

TWTWTW

.

When Jack slid into Aria's room that night his mind was full of memories from his talk with Gwen Cooper. Deep down he knew it probably wasn't going to be the last time he saw her, but he wasn't sure he wanted to encounter her again after how pissed off she was when she realized what he had done. As he stripped down to his boxers, carefully placing his much loved coat on the chair, he was surprised to see Aria's eyes flutter open as she realized he was there.

"Hey. I thought you would be asleep." He smiled softly at her, slipping under the blankets and wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close to her body. Aria buried her face in his chest, breathing in his comforting smell and welcoming the warmth radiating from his body.

"Thank you, Jack," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut again.

"For what?" The Captain asked, sighing softly, a smile on his face when he realized she had already fallen back asleep.

.

TWTWTW

.

Aria slept late the next morning, waking only when Ianto let Winter back to her room to wake her up, the excited wolf bounding over her on the bed. He stood in the doorway, observing with a cheeky grin on his face, a large coffee in his hand ready to hand to her. She rolled over, dejectedly pushing herself from the mattress and on to shaky feet.

"What time is it?" She asked Ianto, not caring that he was watching as she changed into clean clothes, not being bothered to have a shower at that moment.

"Almost four in the afternoon," he replied, handing her the coffee as she pushed past him into the main area. "You alright, Nemo?" She nodded, groaning as she ran a hand over her face.

"Where's everyone?" She asked, surveying the empty hub with confusion.

"Out and about." Aria smiled at him and gave him a quick hug before leaving the hub herself and heading towards the jetty. It was already starting to get dark and she shivered, wishing she had put something warmer on. Pulling her flimsy jacket closer to her body she turned to head back, her idea of going for a walk abandoned, when she noticed two figures next to the water tower, one of them pointing a gun at the other.

.

Quickening her pace she got closer, ducking behind a line on bins to the right of them. As she got closer she recognised who was there; Gwen and Suzie, holding a gun which was pointed at Gwen's head.

"… You're going to put up a fight so I've got to …" Aria couldn't quite make out what Suzie was saying and tried to edge over, internally cursing herself as she knocked over a can, the loud noise giving away her position. "Come out!" Suzie called, and Aria stepped out from behind the cover, hands behind her head and her gaze fixed firmly on the gun.

"Put the gun down, Suzie," she warned, slowly edging closer to Gwen's side. "It doesn't need to be like this."

"It was always going to be like this," Suzie spat, the gun now pointing at Aria, giving Gwen a chance to step back.

"One day you'll end up like me …. Both of you will. Alone, just you and your secrets, no friends, no family, no home, and no name. Torchwood will find out by morning but I'll be gone. I don't know where." She paused. "What am I going to do? I loved this job, I really really loved it.' The tears began to fall from Suzie's eyes as she spoke to them, almost in hysterics. "And now I've got to run. Oh Christ! How can you do any job after this one?" Aria swallowed nervously. "You have to get inside this stuff …. I did it with the glove, and that's why the perception filter doesn't work on me." Suzie swung the gun to her left and Aria leapt forward, screaming as she was too late, Jack falling to the ground, blood seeping from the bullet hole in his forehead. Her screams of anguish turned to those of pain as the gun was turned on her, a bullet ripping through her right shoulder, sending her onto the ground. Gritting her teeth against the pain she rolled onto her side, her eyes shut. She was able to make out a familiar voice talking calmly, before a last shot rang out.

.

"Nemo!" She heard Jacks voice call out somewhere to the left of her and she groaned, whimpering as she was lifted into the air by strong arms which jostled her injured soldier. She was in and out of consciousness in the next few minutes, and when she came properly to, she was lying on a cold, hard table with Owen tying off the stitches on the wound in her shoulder.

"What happened?" She murmured, grateful for the morphine that was in her system.

"Suzie's dead, Nemo. She shot you. Gwen and Jack saved your life," Ianto added from where he sat, clasping her hand tightly.

"Jack?" Confusion washed through her. She saw Jack die. As she went to open her mouth again a hand covered it and Jack came into her view, silently shaking his head at her, telling to be quiet.

.

TWTWTW

.

It was later that night and everyone but Gwen had gone home. Aria sat curled up on the couch, sleepy from the morphine, her face buried in Winter's coat. Jack and Gwen stood surveying each other.

"You didn't tell them you survived being shot in the head," Gwen stated, getting no response. "She killed you, Jack. No one can survive a shot to the head." Aria observed silently from her position on the couch.

"I can't die."

"Bull," Aria whispered. "I watched you die."

"I can't stay dead," he said, correcting himself. Something happened to me a long time ago, and now I can't die. One day I'll find a doctor, the right kind of doctor who can help me and maybe explain it. But for now, all I know is I can't die." Gwen and Aria were silent as they took it in. "What about you Gwen. We have a vacancy now. Interested in a job at Torchwood?"

"Yeah … I do, yeah," Gwen answered after a moments hesitation and was rewarded with a rare, genuine smile from Aria.

...

**Please review and follow :)) I am to have the next chapter done by the weekend! xx**


	4. Day One Part 1

**So, I know I said I would have this done by the weekend and it is now Monday ... But I have been really sick :( I'm home from school today so I took the chance to finish writing the chapter for you! A massive, massive, massive thanks to sd4ianto for reviewing (again) and favouriting and following! You are absolutely amazing and this chapter is dedicated to you :)) **

**Please leave a review guys and give me some feedback :)) **

**Enjoy!**

**...**

"So how come Jack didn't check with us before offering her a job?" Owen asked from where he stood beside her, his hands skillfully taking out the stitches out of the almost healed gunshot wound in her shoulder. "All done," he gave her a quick smile before his gaze was drawn to Tosh who was slowly coming down the steps into the medical area.

"It's not unlike him," Tosh said as she came to stand beside them, her gaze briefly flicking to Owen before she blushed, looking down at her feet. Aria sent her a soft smile.

"Nothing to do?" Owen asked, busying himself with cleaning his tools and placing things away. Toshiko shook her head. "The rift's quiet and there's nothing left for me to do up there."

"Here," Owen chucked a couple of blood stained towels at her. "Make yourself useful." Aria couldn't help but snicker as Tosh looked at them with disgust. A loud beeping noise came from the computers and Tosh sighed with relief, dropping the towels on the floor and racing up the stairs, a swearing Owen picking up the towels behind her. Aria ran up the stairs two at a time, almost colliding with Jack as he came around the corner. He placed a hand on the small of her back and walked behind her, pulling her into him as they stopped in front of Tosh.  
"What is it?" Jack asked, pulling out his phone as it began to ring. Everyone paused as he answered, quickly pretending to look busy when he turned around and realized everyone was staring at him. Sighing he grabbed his coat from the back of a chair and looked at Tosh.  
"It's some sort of meteorite, I think." She said, peering through her glasses at the screen.  
"That was the police on the phone. Alright, let's go take a look. Owen, text Gwen, get her to come in."  
"What? Why?!" Owen protested. "She doesn't start until tomorrow," he added, looking stunned.

"We need her now. Aria can fill her in," Jack gave her a teasing smile as the group followed him out, piling into the SUV.

.

"This is a simple locate and clean up," Jack addressed them after Gwen was picked up, leaving Aria to sulk by herself in the boot, having been volunteered to sit there without a choice thanks to Owen. "We need to find the meteorite before anyone else can get their hands on it."

"Tosh you got anything yet?" Aria asked, peering over her shoulder at the many screens lowering in front of the girl. Gwen stared at them in amazement.

"Is this CRIMIN?" Gwen asked,. "You shouldn't have this, this is the police system!"

"Sweetheart, you'd stop saying you and start saying we. You're part of our team now," Aria advised Gwen, muttering, and gaining a raised eyebrow from Jack in rearview mirror. Luckily for her, he let it slip. As they pulled up to the crash site, Owen let out a groan.

"Well shit. The amateurs got here first." Aria sighed as they surveyed the army men surrounding the place, tents and barriers blocking their path. Leaping out of the car and grabbing the gear they fell into formation behind Jack, frowns upon the men's faces as they let the group through the barriers.

.

Instead of following them into the tents, Aria opted to stay outside, surveying the people around her and looking for anything that could be classified as alien that hadn't been picked up yet.

"Can I help you, miss?" A British accent called from behind her and she spun around, relaxing when she saw it was just another soldier.

"It's fine, thank you." She gave him a soft smile, taking in his handsome features.

"What's a young girl like you doing all alone here?" He asked. "I'm Jared. It's nice to meet you." He held out a hand which she took, laughing quietly when he placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand, his lips lingering a little longer than needed.

"I'm Aria," she said, introducing herself as he straightened up. "I'm with Torchwood. Just having a look around," she added, explaining.

"Bit young for Torchwood, aren't you?"

"Maybe. But I'm sure I can do my job better than any of you guys." A slight frown replaced her smile. She didn't like people questioning her age, and she certainly didn't like people questioning whether or not she had the right to be a part of Torchwood.

"I'm sorry …. I didn't mean it that way." He tried backtracking and she smirked as he looked at her like a deer caught in headlights.

"It's fine, really. I'm used to it." Aria turned back to the pile she was poking at when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Jared again. "Yes?"

"Can I take you out sometime?" He asked, his voice suddenly husky. Aria thought for a moment, before giving up.

"Alright. Here." She took his phone out of his outstretched hand and entered her number, giving him a final smile as Jack called her name from beside the SUV. "Text me sometime."

"What did I miss?" She asked Jack as she saw how distraught Gwen looked, and how pissed Owen looked.

"She screwed it up," Owen muttered as he passed her, and she heard Gwen apologize again.

"Owen." Jack warned, glaring at him as he slid into the front seat.

"Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes," Aria sent Gwen a soft smile. "On my first day I shot Owen in the shoulder. You can't get as bad as that."

.

TWTWTW

.

Seconds after they arrived back at the hub, a clipboard was handed to Jack by Ianto.

"This might help. Night club death, phoned in by 999. Circumstances sound a little unusual." Jack raised his eyebrow at the suited man as he skimmed the information before handing it to Aria who blushed when she read it.

"Let's go check it out," Jack prompted.

.

As Aria listened to the Bouncer's recount on what happened she was disgusted. Not only by the fact that they had been shagging in public toilets where anyone could see, but the fact that he sat there watching the whole thing. However, from what she had seen so far, he didn't seem like an overly great guy. His office was disgusting, and she was almost positive his computer was full of saved recordings from the different bathrooms.

"My god …"

"He just …"

"Came and went!" Owen let out a snort. "Now that's how I'd like to go!"

"I'm sure it could be arranged."

"How can that be?" The bouncer interrupted, moving so he was close to Aria, his hand softly brushing her ass. "It didn't make any sense, it's not possible." Aria growled and stepped forward.

"Maybe if you didn't hit on girls half your age, invade peoples privacy, and watch CCTV footage of people shagging in the toilets, then you wouldn't be so upset!"

"Are you implying I'm a pervert?" He snarled, moving closer to her. Jack cleared his throat.

"I never said that. But you do sound incredibly guilty," Aria smirked, turning to step away when he grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around again. Before anyone could do anything his lips were on hers and his hand exploring under her skirt. Aria pulled away, punching him in the face as she was pushed behind Owen, Jack giving the man another punch to the face and pushing him to the floor.

"You leave her alone," he snarled at him, before turning to Aria. "Nemo?" She let out a small sob, burying her face in his coat and he pulled her into him, rubbing her back comfortingly and whispering into her hair. "It's alright. It's not your fault. It's not your fault." And yet she couldn't stop shaking. That man had bought back memories she didn't want to be resurfaced.

.

TWTWTW

.

Back at the hub after Aria had spent a couple of minutes scolding herself in the mirror for overreacting she joined to rest of the team in the side room, Winter ever faithful and by her side. "So what is it supposed to do?" She heard Gwen ask as she entered the room, not even bothering to get a chair, placing herself down on Owen's lap instead, leaning into him as he arms snaked around her waist.

"You okay?" He whispered into her ear and she nodded in reply.

"Its kind of like a satellite tracking device … I'm using the data to determine the inward trajectory of the meteorite." Jack explained, his forehead creased in concentration.

"Basically he means he's working out where it came from," Tosh added, a smile on her face.

"Hey! Sometimes a little techno-babble is good for the soul," Jack said, grinning, and Aria let out a giggle.

"So this is like a route planner?"

"Not far off." Tosh replied handing the files she was holding over to Aria who swiftly deposited them on the desk beside them.

"Rhys, my boyfriend … he's a transport manager. He does this sort of stuff all the time. Well, on a slightly smaller scale.' Jack laughed and Aria smiled at the odd look that Tosh was giving Gwen.

"You have a boyfriend?" She asked, and Gwen grinned, nodding.

"Yeah! Have you?" Tosh shook her head.

"Don't have time with this job," she replied, resulting in Gwen's smile to drop. She turned to Owen and Aria next, looking at them thoughtfully.

"What about you two? Are you guys together?" She asked, motioning at the way they were sitting. Aria scrambled to leave his lap.

"Ew no!" She said, beginning to laugh. "I see no reason to be around him for longer than I have to!" She poked her tongue out at him jokingly.

"Nah, I get all the grief I need here. In regards to Aria, her and Jack have a little thing going on." Owen raised his eyebrow at them as Aria blushed, avoiding Jack's gaze and watching Gwen's confusing look.

.

"So none of you have serious partners?" She clarified.

"Just you, newbie," Owen confirmed, pushing himself up from the chair.

"I'm not trying to be rude or anything." Everyone turned to face her, listening curiously. "How do you switch off from all this stuff? What do you do to relax?" Everyone just stared at her, Owen rushing to break the silence with one of his unsurprisingly bad timed jokes.

"I torture people in happy relationships." Gwen's expression turned into a frown and Aria could see that she wished she'd never asked.


	5. Day One Part 2

**Hey guys :)) Not sure how happy I am with this chapter but I wanted to give you guys something ... so here it is :)) Please read the 2 authors notes down the bottom! Thanks to everyone who is reading, reviewing, following and favouring! Love you all :)) x**

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Later that day Aria had her head buried once again in her book, her left hand absentmindedly petting Winter who sat beside her. She almost screamed when something buzzed by her foot, relaxing back into the couch when she realized it was just her phone. She had been way to jumpy lately. The hub was deserted; Jack, Gwen, Owen and Tosh were all out paying the girl a visit, and she suspected Ianto was in reception, filing the stuff Jack had left for Owen to do. Unlocking her phone she smiled as she saw who the text was from. Jared, wondering if she was free for lunch. Typing a quick reply she pushed herself off the couch, running to her room to pull on a light purple sundress and pulling her hair into a messy bun. Making her way up to the entrance, she hoped to sneak past Ianto's questions, grimacing when he cleared his throat behind her.

"Hey Ianto!" She smiled at him, an innocent grin on her face.

"Don't try that look on me, Nemo. You know it doesn't work. Where are you going?" He asked, looking at her worriedly.

"Out. And look … I have to be somewhere. See you later yeah?" She smiled at him, turning to make a quick escape.

"Be careful, Aria." She paused and turned around.

"I'm nineteen Ianto. I'll be fine."

.

Coming home that night she couldn't stop smiling. After lunch at this cute little restaurant near the jetty, the two of them had spent hours talking and laughing, getting to know each other. Unfortunately for her, she had to call it a day after realizing she had 27 missed calls and countless texts, all from Jack. Entering the hub everything fell quite as everyone turned to look at her. She gave them a slow wave, confusion on her face.

"What did I miss?" Aria asked. She jumped as Jack silently appeared beside her, his face stony.

"Where were you?"

"Out? I don't see what the big deal is?" Aria replied, trailing off upon noticing Jack's face. "I was out with a friend, Jack. No one special." As much as she hated to admit it, she knew nothing would ever come out of her friendship with Jared. Deep down, she had always loved someone else, even if her feelings weren't returned.

"Who's for Chinese?" Ianto interrupted, lightening the mood. Everyone trailed behind him and Aria who carried the food up into the board room where they collapsed into the chairs, light conversation drifting around the table as they dug into their food. However, once Jack had left to do paperwork, the group turned to face Gwen, the conversation becoming more serious.

.

"So, what's he told you?" Owen asked.

"About what?"

"Himself," Owen replied, pulling a face.

"You've all been here longer than I have!" Gwen protested, looking around in confusion at the team. Aria shot her a sympathetic look. The poor girl.

"They're all banking on you," she explained. "They believe that because you're a cop, you should be asking questions."

"You don't know anything?!" Gwen clarified, looking at them in astonishment.

"Nothing. Not who he is, not where he's from. Absolutely nothing." He thought for a moment before gesturing to Aria. "Except for him being gay." Aria raised her eyebrow at him.

"And why do you say that?"

"He sleeps with you every night and yet I am led to believe you guys have shagged a total times of never." Gwen still didn't believe it.

"No he's not! Really? Do you think?' Owen nodded but Tosh shook her head and interrupted.

"Owen does, I don't."

"And I don't overly care," Ianto put in.

"Period military is not the dress code of a straight man!" Owen argued. Winter shook her head in disagreement.

'I think it suits him.' She replied.

"See!" Tosh said to Gwen. "Only person who may know anything about him is Aria, and she won't say squat." Aria smiled cheekily at them, winking and tapping the side of her nose before pushing herself to her feet, trying not to focus on the thoughts in her head. She knew that there was nothing between her and Jack, but Owen had a point. There had been plenty of chances for something to happen, and yet nothing had and was unlikely ever to. As the thoughts swam through her mind, she realized there was something she had to do and she silently left the board room.

.

TWTWTW

.

"You've forgotten what it means to be human," Gwen protested, staring at Jack.

"So remind me. Remind me of what it means to be human in the twenty-first century!"

"Well, someone's got the right idea," Ianto mused, his gaze drawn to the screen which was showing Carys in her cell. Jack's heart almost stopped as he realized who was standing by the door. Aria, conveniently with her back to the camera.

"What the hell is she doing!?" He growled, rising from his chair only to be stopped by Toshiko who placed a hand on his forearm, telling him to wait. They watched on as Aria went through the doors and sat down in front of the scared girl.

.

"Hi." Aria smiled softly at the girl. "I'm Aria. What's your name?" The girl hesitated before answering.

"Carys. What do you want?" She asked.

"You really want to know?" Aria asked and Carys nodded. "I want life to be simple. I want to be able to change the mistakes you made, to be able to live life without being judged. I want things to be easier." Carys wiped her eyes and stared at her.

"Why? What on earth is wrong in your perfect life?"

"What isn't wrong. My problems probably don't come anywhere close to yours, but I've seen things, done things, heard things I wish I could forget. I go about everyday hurting because I want something that I know is never going to happen. I have to watch a certain person flirt with everything that breathes, and yet he still doesn't see that there's someone who loves him right in front of him. My parents were murdered by an alien in front of me, and my best friend is a fucking wolf. Life can't get more crazy then that." She paused. "I don't know exactly what you're going through, but I'm pretty sure I have a good idea of what you're feeling."

Jack and the team watched from the board room, all completely stunned. Aria was well known for keeping her feelings to herself; seeing her open up to a complete stranger and sympathize with them was unthought-of. Especially since she knew that could hear, and knew that they now know the problems she was dealing with that she had tried to hard to hide away. Thankfully for them, she had Carys talking.

"What is it that I'm feeling then? Enlighten me."

"You're feeling lost and scared. You don't know quite what is happening and worried about what may happen to the people around you if it continues. You want to leave and get away from it all, and yet you don't want to leave those you love." Carys nodded, beginning to cry again. Aria sighed and pulled the girl into her body, rubbing her back softly in comfort. "For the past month or so I've been thinking of leaving, going somewhere different and starting afresh. But when I look back on it, there are five people here I would miss more than anything, and I don't think I could leave them. Even if they might not miss me, I would still miss them." Upon hearing this Jack turned off the screen, pausing in his departure only to tell everyone to get back to work.

.

TWTWTW

.

She slipped out of the hub through the back, not wanting to run into anyone who would begin to question her or try to give her sympathy. The last thing she wanted was sympathy. Aria walked along the boardwalk, her fingers trailing across the light metal that made up the railing, her head full of thoughts. Looking around her a smile came to her face as she realized Jared was making his way towards her, a smile on his face and his hand waving ecstatically above his head. She gave him a small wave in return, welcoming his hug as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey," she whispered into his chest. When she didn't get a reply she pulled away and looked up at him. "What's wrong?" she asked upon noticing his stony expression.

"You didn't answer my texts."

"Sorry? I didn't realise you owned me? I was at work," Aria exclaimed, stepping back.

"You should have answered my texts," Jared hissed, something flashing in his eyes before he bought his hand up and slapped her, his rings digging into her cheek painfully. She flinched back, tears coming to her eyes as she stared at him. "Shit, Aria, I'm so sorry. I was just worried. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry." She shook her head at him and backed away, wiping tears away with the back of her hand before turning and sprinting back the way she came, relief washing through her as she saw the SUV driving down the road towards her. She gave a soft wave and Jack pulled up beside her, all of them watching her as she silently hopped in the very back, her head bent forward so her hair covered the side of her face, hiding the damage left by Jared. When they arrived at the hub she leapt out, pushing ahead of everyone into the hub and collapsing on Owen's chair, grabbing the thing closest to her and bringing it up to hide her face, sightlessly scanning the pages in front of her in an attempt to look busy.

.

"Nemo?" Jack approached her as he noticed her position. "What's wrong?" He asked. She ignored him and whistled for Winter who pushed past the Captain to bury his face in her lap.

"If you're going to pretend to be reading, you may have wanted to pick something more suited to your gender and style," Owen joked and Aria let out a smirk, turning the magazine and dropping in in disgust upon seeing it was one of Owen's magazines full of half naked girls. As she let out a laugh her hair fell away revealing the cuts and bruises that had been left by Jared's hand earlier.

"Shit …" Owen breathed out and Jack bought his hand to her face, swallowing his gasp as those around him expressed their shock.

"Who did this to you?" He demanded, running his fingers softly over the injured side of her face.

"No one," Aria replied, shaking her head. "I tripped and fell onto a piece of wood." She didn't know why she was lying or why she was protecting him, but she was trying to believe that it was a mistake and he would never do it again No one looked convinced but she gave them all a reassuring smile. "I'm fine guys, I promise." It took a couple of moments for everyone to give up and go back to their own things, finishing up the paperwork for the case on Carys, leaving Jack and Aria alone.

""I'm sorry," he whispered, pulling her into him. "You know you an tell me anything right? I love you, and I care for you. And if anyone's hurt you I'll kill them", he added and Aria grinned at him. She had no doubt that he would. Owen cleared his throat from where he sat beside her.

"Please humor us all and save the PDA for a time I'm not here."

**Three reviews for me to post the next chapter? xx**

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**A/N 1: So a massive thankyou to my one reviewer :)) But I really need feedback ... So I'm not going to post the next chapter until I get three reviews ... Sorry if it sounds harsh :/ I will probably break it anyway cause I love writing :P**

**A/N 2: I am going to try and post a chapter every week :)) **


	6. Ghost Machine Part 1

**Hey guys :D Thankyou to everyone who reviewed! The feedback is much appreciated ... I am trying to take everything on board! I am on holidays now so I should hopefully be able to update more often! Enjoy :))**

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"So what really happened?" Owen asked, looking at her with curiosity over the top of his glasses as he worked on analyzing someone's blood on the table in front of her. She sat with her legs under the railings, staring down at him and avoiding his question.

"Nothing. Whatcha doing?" She asked, hoping he would be too intrigued in his work to notice her change of topic. He placed down his equipment and came to stand in front of her, looking up at her, his eyebrow raised.

"Don't give me bullshit, Aria. I'm a doctor. I know as well as you that those injuries were not caused by wood. They're consistent with the injuries which occur from a punch or something of similar nature." Aria avoided his gaze. "Why are you lying, Aria? Why are you protecting them?" He asked, sincere, as he rested his hand on her cheek and pushed back her hair from her face.

"Because a part of me wants to believe that it was an accident, that they didn't mean it," she whispered, letting a lone tear fall down her face, leaning into his hand for comfort. Her face had mostly healed now; her pain came more from her conversation with Jack the other evening rather than anything else. She knew what he was going to say before he said it, but actually hearing him tell her that he thought of her more like a little sister or daughter, rather than someone he was in love with, hurt more than she thought it would. Sighing, she wiped her face and pulled herself to her feet, grabbing her well worn book tightly in her hand as she stood.

"Why do you even read that anyway?" Owen asked as he followed her out of the medical area, peeking over her shoulder at the copy of _A Game of Thrones_ she held in her hand. "Isn't it more suited for guys than girls?"

.

Frowning at his comment, Aria wacked him lightly on the head with it before placing herself down in his chair.

"You, Owen Harper, are a sexist pig."

"Ow," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. "Calm down Aria, jeez. Take a joke girl." She poked her tongue out of him as he finally realized that there was someone occupying his seat. "Get out." He narrowed his eyes. Aria realized this was becoming a regular occurrence and she grinned. She got more pleasure out of annoying Owen than she would care to admit.

"Maybe," she answered, running a strand of her hair through her fingers.

"Maybe what?"

"If you tell me where the others are I may get out of your chair." He tensed in front of her.

"I don't know. I've told you that many times."

"Cut the bull, Owen. We both know that I know you're lying. So please, humor me. Where are they?" Aria asked again.

"Fine. I hate it when you pull the guilt trip." He leant back on the metal desk behind him. "They went to track down an alien device that's been dormant for a while, and was activated again about an hour ago."

"We have a case? How come no one asked me if I wanted to go?" She exclaimed.

"Jack told us not to," Owen said as let out a breath he had been holding in.

"HE WHAT?!" Aria shouted, turning in anger to the cog door as it opened behind her. "SCREW YOU JACK HARKNESS. I THOUGHT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS!" She shouted as him as the rest of the team came through the door.

"Nemo –" He held out his hand to her and she pulled away, shaking her head.

"Don't Nemo me, Jack. You know what happened last time. You promised." She gave in and let him pull her into his body.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." Last time she wasn't taken on a case, someone tried to kill her when she went out looking for them. Since then, Jack promised he would always give her the choice whether or not she wanted to come.

.

"Sorry," she whispered. "Over reacted." She pulled away and sat down on the couch, ignoring the looks she was getting from Gwen.

"Can someone explain to me what that was about?" Gwen asked, gesturing at the two of them with her hands. Jack shook his head at her.

"Leave it, Gwen," he advised, but Aria placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She has a right to know, Jack." He let out a soft growl and left them, walking into his office, followed shortly after by Ianto. "What do you want to know?" Aria asked her. Gwen took a moment to think before answering.

"How did you come to be a part of the team?"

"My parents were murdered by some sort of alien. For some reason, it left me alive, and I was found by Ianto when Torchwood came to clean up the mess. They thought I was the alien with my eyes and all … But after Owen proved I wasn't, Jack did the usual. Took me out for a drink and retconned me." Aria sighed, avoiding everyone's gaze. "Only problem was, it backfired. For some reason, it didn't just erase the last twenty four hours … I lost a week, and many memories from my childhood. I thought my parents were still alive. Finding out they weren't triggered memories of Torchwood, and when I went back there, Jack took me in. I don't know if I have other family … Or at least I cant remember. But no one has come looking for me, so either they don't care or they're dead as well."

"Alright," Gwen nodded. "Why did you react like that when Jack left you here?"

"Because last time that happened I almost died," Aria whispered.

"And she shot me," Owen added. "Although in all fairness, that was probably my fault."

* * *

_"You are not leaving me alone," Aria reasoned, walking quickly behind Jack as he went to leave the hub. "It's boring here." Jack turned to look at her with his eyebrow raised. _

_"There is no way you are coming with us, Aria. You know nothing about the way we work, it's going to be dangerous and your arm still isn't healed." She let out a soft growl as she flexed her arm, ignoring the pain that came from having a torn shoulder. Stupid car. _

_"Fine. But what the hell am I meant to do here?" _

_"Paperwork. There's some on Owen's desk. Just stay out of trouble," he advised, giving her a small wave goodbye before leaving her alone in the quiet of the hub, the silence only broken every now and then with a squawk from the Pterodactyl. She busied herself with filing, placing each of the documents one by one into their relevant places, stopping sometimes to read reports that caught her eye. It didn't take long for her to get bored and she abandoned her post, grabbing her coat and leaving the hub in search of the jetty that Jack, Owen, Ianto and Tosh had gone to. As she came out into the reception area, she was met with a man who swung a wooden bat at her head before she had a chance to defend herself. She fell to the ground, her hands frantically grabbing at objects around her until she grabbed something solid and metal which she threw in his general direction, glad to hear a groan as it connected with him. She tried to take that as a chance to get away but was stopped before she could reach the door, a hand grabbing her around the waist. _

_"Get off me!" She shouted, screaming as her hands were pinned behind her back and his mouth was on hers. She tried to pull away, kicking out at him and his hands explored under her shirt, groping her as she fought against him, helpless, her back against the wall. Screaming out again as he pulled away he twisted her sore arm behind her back, pulling out a gun and pressing the tip against her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable to happen, only opening them when she heard a grunt and the cool metal moving away from her forehead and dropping to the ground. She quickly bent down to pick it up, fumbling with it as she placed her finger on the trigger. Someone placed their hand on her shoulder and she spun around, not looking to see who it was before she shot them, hearing Owen swear in pain as a result. _

* * *

Gwen couldn't help but let out a chuckle at Owen's disgruntled look as Aria finished explaining.

"Actually, now that I remember it, completely your fault," Owen smirked at Aria, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into him for a tight hug, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

"Is that why at the club with the bouncer you …" Gwen trailed off as Aria nodded.

"I can never forget Gwen. Jack tried retconning me after … Another side effect. It no longer works. I can never forget." Aria sighed.

"So you can never be given Retcon?" Gwen clarified and Aria nodded.

"We've tried researching it, but with no luck. We're not quite sure what happened," Tosh said, speaking up from where she had been quietly observing the conversation.

.

TWTWTW

.

"Aright," Jack shouted, his voice loud in the SUV as they swerved around the corner, almost sending Aria into Jack's lap from where she sat in the passenger seat. "We don't know who we're dealing with yet, so be careful. Owen and I will take the SUV, Gwen and Nemo, I want you on ground level. Tosh have you got a visual yet?" Jack asked, speaking into his comm.

"Not yet, he's swerving too fast for me to track him properly. As soon as he slows down I'll have a visual!" As they pulled up Aria leapt out of the car behind Gwen, running quickly behind her and staying on her tail, listening to Tosh's directions in her ear. Her legs began to burn as they neared the station, chasing the figure in dark clothing who they were closing in on. Rolling under the closing barricade behind Gwen she lay still on the floor for a moment as it slammed shut, cutting off Jack and Owen whom she could hear banging on the barrier, shouting to know if they were okay.

"We're fine!" She called out, pushing herself to her feet and turning to see that a fight had broken out between Gwen and the man. As his jacket came off he took the opportunity to run, leaving Gwen and Aria staring at him as he left, his discarded jacket hanging loosely from Gwen's outstretched hand. Aria decided they should at least try to get him and took off at a sprint again, gaining on him slowly until they came to a fence which he scaled easily, but Aria knew she probably wouldn't be able to climb successfully with her past injuries. Instead she made her way back towards the SUV, defeated.

.

Jack was pacing in front of Gwen who sat on the curb, her head in her hands, when Aria jogged back.

"God. I think I just did my exercise for the next month," she panted, before surveying the people in front of her. "What did I miss?" She asked, looking to Owen for an explanation.

"Gwen's seeing ghosts now," he explained, still leaving her without a clue as to what he was talking about.

"What?"

"I used the alien thing … It was in his pocket. I saw a little boy, and it was like I couldn't move or talk, I could only hear him. There was nothing I could do," Gwen whispered. Jack sighed and held out a hand, pulling Gwen to her feet.

"Let's head back to the hub. Toshiko may be able to make some sense of what this thing is." He led them back through the tunnels to the SUV. Thankfully for all of them, his driving improved drastically on the way back home. Tosh met them at the entrance, relieving Jack of the device and taking it back to her desk, leaving the rest of the team to disband and go about any jobs they had to do.

"You going to have a shower?" Ianto asked her and she grinned.

"Why? Do you want to join me?" She asked, watching her best friend blush beside her.

"Oi!" Jack called out from where he stood observing them on the stairs. "Flirting with Ianto is my hobby!"

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	7. Ghost Machine Part 2

**Hey guys :)) So I apologise for the big break between updates ... I had exams and really needed to concentrate on my study! But they're done now, so hopefully I will be back to one chapter a week, although that is subject to change! **

**Please leave some feedback so I know what to improve etc**

**If you have questions leave them in the reviews and I will answer them next chapter :))**

_**Disclaimer: I only own my OC :( **_

* * *

As Aria left the shower she was handed her favourite drink, a chocolate frappe, from her favourite person, Ianto, which she gladly accepted, giving him a quick hug. Walking over to where the rest of the team were sitting she heard Toshiko finishing listing the convictions on the boy they were after.

"So basically he's a criminal mastermind," Owen commented. "Have we gotten anywhere on that object?"  
"We may have gotten further if you had of helped," Aria commented, poking her tongue out at him.

"Like you can talk … You're the one who spent the last hour doing who knows what down stairs," he retaliated, a playful glint in his eyes.

"It's Alien of course. Absolutely gorgeous nanotechnology," Jack praised, stopping the two's bantering before it got out of hand. "Almost makes NASA look like Toys'R'Us." Gwen took it from Jack's hands, spinning it in her palm.

"At the station it was doing this, and when I held it up it lit up and went completely mad." Gwen explained.

"Well it's certainly not doing it now," Aria commented, raising her eyebrow at the object in confusion. "What do we do now?" She asked, turning to Jack.

"This kid, Bernie?" He asked. "Where does he live?"

"Splot," Tosh answered, getting a confused look from Aria.

"Splot?"

"I believe real estate agents pronounce is splow," Ianto replied, a grin on his face.

TWTWTW

While Tosh, Gwen and Owen canvassed the neighborhood for 'Bernie', Aria took the opportunity to sneak out of the hub, leaving Jack and Ianto by themselves. She didn't have a particular place she wanted to end up, but her meaningless meandering eventually took her to the pier where her and Jared went for their lunch date. As much as she knew she shouldn't, she pulled out her phone and sent him a quick text, letting him know where she was, hoping he might come down and apologize so they could move on. It took seconds for him to reply and within a couple of minutes Aria could see him jogging down the walkway towards her. He slowed as he approached, his expression of happiness turning to that of pain and regret as he noticed the cuts left on her face from where he hit her.

"Did I do that?" He whispered, bring his finger up to softly brush her skin, wincing as Aria nodded. "I am so so sorry. I'm a horrible person."

"It's fine. We all make mistakes." Aria murmured, not meeting his gaze. She was the one feeling guilty now; the only reason she called him here was to distract herself from Jack and everything going on back at the hub. She didn't have any notion to forgive him.

"It's not fine," he argued. "Look at me?" He tilted her head up, giving her a soft smile. "I truly am sorry."

"I know," Aria whispered, meeting his gaze before crashing her lips to his. He hesitated at first before opening his mouth and granting her entry with her tongue, kissing her back with more passion than she had ever shown him. For a few moments they forgot about everything around them, becoming the only two people left in their world, before a short cough beside them bought them out of their trance.

.

"Sorry … Was I interrupting something?" Captain Jack Bloody Harkness. Aria groaned and spun around, an annoyed look on her face.

"Your time is impeccable as always," she growled, turning to Jared, an apologetic look on her face.

"Who is this?" Jack asked, eyeing him with caution.

"Jack, this is Jared. Jared, this is Jack, my boss and … flat mate." She figured she may as well be honest.

"Flat mate? You guys live together? And he's your boss?" Jared asked, an almost betrayed expression on his face.

"Yeah, and sorry but Aria needs to leave now." She only had time to wave a quick goodbye to Jared before she was dragged away by Jack.

"What the hell was that, Harkness? You've dropped to a new low now."

"You shouldn't be around him. We haven't checked him out, we don't know anything about him, and I will bet on my life he's the one that hurt you." Aria just glared at him. "What's done is done. Let's go find the rest of the team and see if they've actually done any work."

TWTWTW

Unfortunately for everyone, the rest of the team hadn't gotten further, leaving Jack in a sour mood. The three of them were huddled together over a brick structure which was serving as a table.

"We did try," Owen reasoned, pushing a pastry across to Jack as almost a peace offering which he pointedly ignored. Aria took it instead, welcoming the warmth she got biting into it and leaning into Owen who wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her a one armed hug. Still saying nothing Jack began making his way towards the bridge, leaving the others to throw the rest of their pastries in the bin and jog to catch up to him.

"Where are we going?" Gwen asked.

"Back to the railway station," Jack said, explaining his plan to the team. "We need to replicate what happened."  
"What so I have to do that thing with it again?" Aria groaned as Gwen spoke.  
"That's usually what replicate means," she pointed out, causing Gwen to look down at the ground, embarrassed. Owen softly squeezed her shoulder and she muttered a soft apology to Gwen. "Sorry. But Jack, this could be dangerous."

"Yeah." Not the reaction Aria expected.

"I don't mean to be picky," Owen cut in. "But I can spot quite a few flaws in this plan."

"Oh I'm sorry. I thought you were the guys who gave up looking for a nineteen year old and spent your morning shoving your tongue down some strangers throat?" His last bit was directed towards Aria and she ducked her head as everyone turned to stare at her in confusion. "I figured maybe you were after something a bit more exciting, something that's a bit more challenging." Jack stormed off ahead, leaving everyone feeling crap behind him. Gwen and Tosh continued on ahead but Aria stopped to wait for Owen, turning in confusion when she realized he wasn't catching up to her.

.

He was standing extremely still and clutched the flashing alien device in his outstretched hands. His face had turned extremely pale and he was staring in her direction, however his eyes were unfocused.

"Jack!" She called, her terror showing in her voice as she edged closer to Owen.

"Not now, Aria. Just hurry up."

"No, Jack, really! Please!" As she called out again, Owen took a deep breath and began shaking, collapsing into her arms and leaning on her for support. Without a word he pulled away, muttering something about someone being scared as he handed the device to Jack, before being pulled away to the SUV by Gwen.

TWTWTW

The story of Lizzie Lewis had had an obvious effect on Owen. As everyone tried to make sense of case he stayed quiet and sullen, no remarks, jokes or sarcastic comments.

"A quantum transducer!" Jack's exclamation made everyone look up, Toshiko looking extremely excited.

"I'd kill for one of those!" She exclaimed, leaving everyone to raise their eyebrows at her excitement. "Transducers convert energy from one form into another. They're in everything; headphones, where they convert electrical signals into sound and in this device it converts quantum energy and magnifies it."

"Of course, it's emotion." Jack breathed out and Gwen prompted him to explain. "Human emotion is a form of energy. You can't always see or hear it, but you can always feel it. Ever had dèjà-vu? Felt someone walk over your grave? Ever feel like there is someone behind you in an empty room?" Aria nodded.

"A ghost?" Gwen clarified and Jack nodded. As if he hadn't been listening to a word they had been saying, Owen cut in.

"What do we have on Lizzie Lewis?"

"Not much from 1963 … The records aren't that detailed," Tosh answered, an apologetic look on her face. She seemed to want to help him more, but even Toshiko couldn't pull evidence out of thin air.

"What about newspapers or witness statements? Coroner's report?" Owen pushed on.

"Owen." Jack warned, staring at him over the top of his book.

"Well there has to be something!" Owen argued, pushing himself to his feet.

"For a case to be reopened you need new evidence or a new witness."

"I saw it happen."

"No, Owen, you didn't. You saw the moment amplified by alien technology, so please, tell me how that will play in court?" Jack was almost yelling now.

"Since when have we cared about courts?"

"Owen …" Aria placed a hand on his shoulder softly, only to have it pushed away.

"Leave me alone, Aria. I just need space. You're always smothering me. Go find another stranger to share saliva with," Owen snarled and Aria stood back in shock as he pushed past her.

"Tomorrow we go looking for Bernie Harris and find out what he knows about this Ghost Machine. We do our job, find out where this thing came from, and then go home." Jack said, concluding the meeting and standing up, shooting Aria a concerned look before pushing out, Gwen following close behind.

* * *

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